Telangana

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Andhra Press and Disinformation

Pasham Yadagiri (Former Editor of Varthamanam)The Telangana region has been a victim of conspiracy of silence, hatched by the Andhra rulers, actively abetted by Andhra press. The observation of M. Chalapati Rau that the freedom of press has degenerated into freedom of owner of printing machines aptly applies to Andhra press. The Andhra owners of Telugu newspapers without exception and the Andhra journalists with few exceptions never bothered to understand seriously the problem of Telangana region which accounts for a near one-third of circulation of Telugu newspapers.The Andhra press has failed to empathize with the woes of Telangana people, being subjugated by successive rulers for over 800 years. The people of this region, in stark contrast to docile and content people of the other regions of the Andhra Pradesh, have been restless and volatile. The Telangana people fought Mallick Jaffers, Aurangazeb, the French army, the British army, Qutubshais and Asafjahis. They fought back the Razakars, created by the last Nizam, the world's richest man of his times. At least 10,000 peasants were killed by the Nizam's army and several thousands were jailed.Even after the mighty Nizam's forces meekly surrendered to the powerful Indian army in 1948, the peasants of Telangana continued their struggle even against the Indian army to protect the lands they gained from Nizam and his stooges. The people fought the Andhra rulers in 1969 demanding separate Telangana. This upsurge had left 376 students killed by the police. The hunger and poverty, perpetuated by the Andhra rulers systematically, has provided a breeding ground for people's unrest and violence. The heroic sacrifices of Telangana people during Kakatiya regime, Asafjahi rule and Qutubshahi rule remained unsung and unmourned by the Andhra media. Through the Telangana armed struggle of peasants has no parallel in the history of coastal region, or for that matter any other parts of India, the heroes of the struggle are not considered freedom fighters by Andhra media.The Andhra press similarly, have failed to empathize and sympathize with problems of the common man of Telangana. The starvation deaths of Mahbubnagar, the migration of legendary Palamur labor to unknown destinations in search of livelihood, drought or famine, highways chokes by endless herds of cattle on way to the slaughter houses, power crunch forcing the helpless farmers to engage gensets to pump water to their fields, hailstorms frequently destroying crop, livestock and even humans, forcible recovery of co-operative loans from the farmers of drought hit areas, desertification of vast agricultural lands, alienation of tribal lands, pollution of subterranean water sources, lack of drinking water, fluoride affected villages - to be precise the human misery that provides volumes of human interest new pieces to any journalist worth his salt and with heart in its right place do not find space in Andhra newspapers. The hunger in Ethiopia is rightly a prominent story in Andhra dailies, but the starvation deaths right in the very backyard of Hyderabad-based newspapers do not merit mention.Andhra newspapers like elsewhere, have only two types of columns, i.e., human interest stories and vested interest stories. While there is no room for human interest stories, the vested interest stories dominate news of Andhra dailies. The unpaid columns of Andhra papers are almost fully occupied by disguised ads, which are subtle form of advocacy journalism. The news of floods in Andhra is prominent headline in Hyderabad daily but famine in Telangana is no news. The drainage problem in coastal delta is bigger news while the irrigation problem of Telangana are hushed up. The loss of property in coastal districts is more prominent news in dailies of even Hyderabad than the loss of life due to hailstorm in Telangana.One would excuse the blackout of Telangana problems by Andhra press till 1975, because Vijayawada used to be publication center for Andhra newspapers. But the entire Andhra press started moving to Hyderabad since 1975 to graze virgin pastures of Telangana. Soon they realized that Telangana provided them ready and fast expanding market. Almost all chain newspapers have more than one-third of their circulation in Telangana while English newspapers and English periodicals have half their circulation in Telangana. Yet the Andhra Press is not loyal to its Telangana readers. It harbors extra-territorial loyalties. The problem of Andhra farmers are magnified and blown out of proportion, while those of Telangana farmers are either shown in poor light or blacked out. This is not a result of innocent mistake but an act of 'not so innocent' mistake. The management of Andhra newspapers have financial interests in Andhra region. Any focus on Telangana problem may lead to demand for expenditure on irrigation facilities or power and transmission lines. It may prevent siphoning of funds to Andhra projects. Apart from this, the management have developed political

Telangana Liberation – A Peoples Struggle

Memories and RecollectionsBySri. Maroju Srihari, (Retd. D.E.O.) Jangaon, Warangal Dt.After a great struggle and sacrifice of Indian people, the British parliament passed an act. It was the act of independence 1947. According to this act, two separate countries, Indian union and Pakistan came in to existence on 15th August 1947. British declared Independence to more than 500 princely states along with India and Pakistan. These princely states were out side the British Indian Dominion. British gave to these princely states their own independent decision to chalk out their future course. They were left free to join either of the states i.e., India and Pakistan or to remain as separate independent states. Sardar Vallabhai Patel, the then Deputy Prime Minister of India took a stern actions to integrate all the princely states. With a stroke of pen all the princely states except Kashmir, Hyderabad state and JunaGadh, decided to join Indian Union. The people of Junagadh rose in revolt. The Government of India was forced to take over the control of the Junagadh. Jammu and Kashmir remained as independent state for some time but Pakistan encouraged people in North West and also invaded Jammu and Kashmir at that moment. The Maharaja of Kashmir appeared to Indian union and signed the instrument of accession. . The Indian troops went into Jammu and Kashmir and fought the invading forces, and thus Jammu and Kashmir became part of India. The state of Hyderabad was very big in area. There were 8 Districts of Atraf Balda, Medak, Nizamabad, Mahabubnagar, Nalgonda, Warangal, Karimnagar and Adilabad districts in Telangana; 6 districts, Aurangabad, Nanded, Beed, Osmanabad, Bidar and Parbhani, Maratwada. Gulbarga and Raichur, 2 districts in Karnataka area. Altogether there were 16 districts. Mir Osman Ali Khan, the Nizam of Hyderabad was the ruler. He was having his own currency, postage and stamps. He had his own railways Nizam state railway (N.S.Railway), Bus services, airport and air-services. He had his own armed forces. The state was rich with abundance of minerals, coal, iron, and other valuable metal reserves, further more he was regarded as the wealthiest king in the world. Keeping in view of all the resources, wealth and abundance of natural resources, the aristocrats, i.e. the Nawabs and Jagirdhars, who were around him provoked and forced the Nizam of Hyderabad to declare independence. On 15th August 1947, the Nizam declared independence and the yellow coloured flag the Asafjahi Jhanda was hoisted. Though the ruler was a Muslim, the majority of people in the state were Hindus. Obviously majority of the people wanted to join the Indian Union. Sensing revolt from the people, the Nawabs and Jagirdars began to make plans to crush down the upsurge of the people if any. Laique Ali was the chief minister and he was the mastermind behind the entire aftermath happenings in the state. A private army called "Razakars" was formed. Most of the Muslim youth were enrolled as Razakars and they were given military training. "Khasim Razvi" an High court advocate was made the state leader of the Razakars, Razakars is a urdu word meaning "volunteer". General public in the state were very much disappointed and protested against the imperialism of the Nizam rule. Some people went under ground and fought against the police and Razakars. But the regular police along with the Razakars let loose the terror among the people. There was arson, loot, murder and rapes through out the state. The unrest and upsurge of the people were called disturbances. With the pretext of maintaining peace the regular police and Razakars committed all kinds of atrocities, some of the rich people went out of the state and took shelter in the neighboring states of Indian union. Particularly the people of Telangana area went to Andhra area. The Telangana people, who expected sympathetic treatment from the Andhra people, were greatly disappointed. Instead of showing sympathy and stretching helping hand, they ill-treated them. At every place they were humiliated and insulted. All the essential commodities and foodstuffs were sold to the telangana people at double rates. The house rents were also increased. Thus the telangana people suffered economically and mentally. Here in the towns and cities, the locks of the vacant houses were broken and they were occupied by the Muslims brought from the villages, where there was threat to their lives from the Communists. Almost all the big towns and cities were full of Muslims. The plight of Hindus in these towns was very miserable. There was constant fear and terror and they were living with a danger to their lives. In those days every Muslim even a boy used to say that Hindus were "Gaddar", "Gaddar" is an Urdu word which means, "traitor". Among the people who remained in their houses the police took some prominent persons in to custody that they thought could organize and create trouble. They were put in jails. In Jangaon also some prominent person like Peddi Narayana, Dr.Shankar Rao, K.P.S.Menon, Arvapalli Narayana, U.V.S.Shastri and Harakari Srinivasa Rao were taken in to custody and put in Chenchalguda Central Jail in Hyderabad. Like wise all over the state police arrested a number of influential and prominent people and put them in central jails. Due to the short of place in jails, the Ajanta and Ellora caves were also made Jails. Dasharathi Krishnama Chari, the state poet was also arrested and kept in the Ellora and Ajanta caves as prisoner, where he wrote his familiar poetic line, "Naa Telangana, Koti Ratanala Veena", such was the patriotism of Telangana people. During the period of Nizam, there were a number of Deshmukhs, Jagirdars and Jamindars who were familiarly called as "Doras". With the blessings of Nizam Doras enjoyed full powers to rule the villages at their will and they used to collect the land revenue too. All the villagers, living in small huts were either tenants of their lands or workers working in their fields. These Deshmukhs were very cruel, notorious and unkind to the people. The atrocities of these Deshmukhs were no less than the Razakars. Particularly in Telangana Region there were a great number of Deshmukhs, who let loose the terror and violence among the villagers. Hence the people of this region were forced to join the Communist movement only to check and stop the atrocities of these "Doras". In old Jangaon taluk there is a village named Visnoor, where Rapaka Ramachandra Reddy was the Deshmukh. There were 60 villages under his control. He built a big bunglow with the free labor of the villagers. Nothing was paid to the workers. It is called "Vetti". The workers and other villagers rose against the Deshmukh. They could not tolerate the atrocities of the Deshmukh and his hench men. There was a fierce battle between his men and villagers. Many villagers were seriously injured and "Doddi Komaraiah" was killed. At that time the Andhra Mahasabha led the people movement. They held a big rally in Jangaon town and arranged seminars and meetings for three days where "Doddi Komaraiah gate" was erected in his memory. Many leaders like Ravinarayana Reddy, Baddam Ella Reddy, Arutla Ramchandra Reddy and his wife Arutla Kamala Devi and Arutla Laxminarasimha Reddy spoke. They described Visnoor Deshmukh as "Kaliyuga Ravanasoor". Slowly the struggle started by the common people of the region against the imperialism, started bending towards communism. Thus communism got its birth in this area mainly because of Visnoor Deshmukh. During the period of Razakars i.e. after the Nizam of Hyderabad declared independence the entire state of Hyderabad was caught in fear and terror and full of disturbances every where. At that time lakhs of Muslims came to Hyderabad in special trains from Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Orissa. They were all uneducated workers land laborers. Their clothes were shabby and dirty. They were called " Phanagazeen". It is a urdu word meaning "refugees". So the entire responsibility of their rehabilitation fell on the state administration. The Nawabs, Jagirdars and Deshmukhs took some of these refugees to their areas and looked after them. They were given food and shelter. These refugees were also given the army training and they were also supplied guns and made Razakars. These refugees were used to crush the peoples struggle and upsurge. Babu Dora was the elder son of Visnoor Deshmukh. He was very cruel and notorious. He took hundreds of these refugees to Visnoor and kept them under his control. They not only guarded the Deshmukh building but let loose terror and committed atrocities among the villagers Babu Dora along with the armed gang of these refugees used to go to some villages and harassed the villagers. Every day Babu Dora killed one or more persons wherever he went. In Devaruppula village three persons were burnt alive. He was so notorious that he made some of the women dance naked. Villagers were very much afraid of this Babu Dora. So the Communists of this area fought against these forces. Under this Visnoor Deshmukh there was one village named "Kadavendi". A youth by name "Nalla Narsimhulu" of this village became the leader of Communists of this area. All the Deshmukhs and police personnel were afraid of Nalla Narsimhulu. They could not get sound sleep to hear his name. Gabbeta Tirmal Reddy and his brother Madhav Reddy were also organizers of Communists and fought against the feudalists and their atrocities. Arutla Ramchandra Reddy and his wife Arutla Kamala Devi, and Arutla Laxminarsimha Reddy organized the Communist Dalams in Alair and Bhongir area. All these leaders had to go under ground and organized armed dalams and fought against the police and Razakars. To counter the uprising of the people in Jangaon area, a special Deputy Collector was posted at Jangaon. He was given extra-ordinary powers and the armed special police battalions to crush the peoples upsurge and to maintain peace, law and order in this area. In Jangaon, just behind our house there was a private Muslim doctor, by name Azeejullah. He was well versed in Telugu language. He used to tell Harikathas in Telugu. Azeejullah was made leader of Razakars in Jangaon. The deputy collector used to go to one or two villages every day along with special police and Razakars with the pretext of maintaining peace in the area. Doctor Azeezullah, the leader of the Razakars used to give lectures in Telugu supporting to the government and to eliminate the Communists who were regarded as unsocial elements. Whenever the villagers heard the sounds of approaching trucks and lorries the men and youth used to run away from their houses without even caring for their children and women. They used to run away in to the fields and forests to save their lives. The villagers who ever remained in villages were gathered at central place and enquired as to who gave food and shelter to the Communists, and then police took such people under their custody. Meanwhile the Razakars attacked the houses and took away all the costly and useful articles, most of the villagers were beaten and killed and the women were humiliated, insulted even some were raped. There was arson, loot, murder and rape wherever the Razakars went. The police use to take some of the youth to taluk headquarters i.e. Jangaon and they were beat and tortured for some days and lastly they were taken out side Jangaon town and shot dead at a small hillock called "Pottigutta”. The dead bodies were left in the open place to rot and were eaten away by beasts and vultures. There was evil smell of the dead bodies around the Jangaon town. The regular police and Razakars under the direction of government officers and the deputy collector committed all these atrocities. On the other side whenever the Communists entered the villages they also used to enquiry as to who gave information to the police. They used to beat them and took them out side the village and sometimes even killed them. The people in the villages were living in the state of terror and fear feeling threat from both sides i.e. the police and Razakars on one side and Communists on the other side. Their plight was very miserable. In every state there was a representative of Indian government called resident. Sri K.M.Munshi was the resident on Hyderabad state. He stayed at Thirumalagiri near Bollaram. There was some Indian army with him. Indian government received the reports from Sri K.M.Munshi that there was complete break down of law and order in the state and people are agitating against the Nizam government. But the state government sent contradicting reports stating that there were no disturbances at all in the state. There was perfect peace and no reasons for the Indian government to doubt the Hyderabad state authority in maintaining the law and order . Villagers in the state particularly in Jangaon taluk was very much vexed with the atrocities of the police and Razakars. There is a village named Bahiranpalli in Jangaon taluk. This village had a "Buruj" built of mud and stones and it was in the centre of the village. By standing on the "Buruz" one can see all around the village. So they employed some youth and kept them on this buruz to guard day and night with guns. They kept watch on borders of the village. They used to fire from the top of "Buruz" and prevented the police and Razakars and even Communists. Thus they protected themselves and saved lives of their children and families. The deputy collector of Jangaon one day went to this village along with his armed special police and Razakars as a routine of his mission to maintain peace among the villagers, when the guards on the "buruz" of village saw the vehicles of the police and Razakars, they started firing. The police also fired at the "buruz" but could not break it. Further the police and the Razakars could not go even a step forward and counter the incessant firing from the guards of the village. The deputy collector felt humiliated and went back to Jangaon. He sent a wireless message to Nalgonda, the district head quarters. In his message he stated that a few villages at Bahiranpally area are acting as the centers of Communist activity. They have built a strong "Morchas" and also strong-armed men to fight against the government forces. He also requested to send some additional forces with strong machine guns and cannons. The next day additional special reserved police with military trucks, guns and cannons arrived at Jangaon on 27th August 1948. The deputy collector went to village of Bhairanpally along with his special police battalion and Razakars. At first the police surrounded the entire village so that no one can run out of the village. Then they fired the cannons aimed at the buruj. At once the upper part of the buruz collapsed and the guards on it had to run away from there. Then the police and Razakars entered the village and killed all the youth and men leaving only the children, old men and women. The entire village was full of blood and dead bodies. It was a mass killing. It reminded of the massacre of Jallianwalla Bagh in Punjab on 13th April 1919, where more than 1000 men were killed and several thousands got wounded. It was the most uncivilized atrocity. The Govt. of India got the reports of this massacre committed by the regular police. Sardhar Vallabhai Patel sent a warning to the government of Hyderabad state. He stated that the state government failed to maintain the law and order in the state and its people were put to many unseen and unknown troubles and many people were killed. So the government of India was forced to send its own army to the state of Hyderabad to maintain the law land order to save the lives and properties of the common people. If the state government tried to prevent the army from entering in to the state the army will take action and use force. The state government of Hyderabad protested and countered that the Government of India was having a false report. There are no disturbances in the state. There is complete peace and law and order is fully maintained. But at zero hours on 13th September 1948, the Indian army started moving in to the state on all sides. On the same day two fighter planes came to Mamnoor police camp and bombed the Aerodrome so that no plane from out side can come and land there. When the army from eastern side came to Khammam, the Razakars went in side the fort and closed the doors and fired on the Indian troops from inside the fort. Two bombers fighters came and bombed the fort from above. Thus the Indian troops advanced from all sides and major general J.N.Chowdhary who advanced from Maharashtra side could reach the Hyderabad on 17th September 1948 and made the Nizam of Hyderabad to declare that he is joining the Indian union. Thus the Indian government took over the control of the administration of the state on 17th September 1948. That is the day Telangana has been liberated. Major General J.N.Chowdary was made the military administrator of the state. The state of Hyderabad was under the military rule for one year. Even after the military took over the administration of the state, the Communist who went under ground did not stop their movement to fight against the imperialism of the Deshmukhs. Nalgonda and Warangal districts were declared disturbed areas and General Nanjappa was appointed special officer for these two districts. He was given extraordinary powers to crush the Communist movement. Many Communist leaders were taken as prisoners and presented before the court for legal proceedings. Nalla Narasimhulu the Communist leader who terrified the Deshmukhs and Nizam was arrested and presented before the court. After the trial for few years in different courts the Supreme Court acquitted him finally. He continued as the leader of the Communist party and lived in Jangaon till his death. Gabbeta Tirumal Reddy who was also arrested but was killed by the army in a fake encounter. Arutla Ramachandra Reddy and his wife Arutla Kamaladevi and Arutla Laxminarsimha Reddy were arrested and after the trials in the court they were acquitted. Charabuddi Jagga Reddy father of Sri Charabuddi Dayakar Reddy, the present Chairman of the C.D.R.Hospital Hyderabad was also an under ground Communist leader. He was also arrested and after the trial in the court he was acquitted. Ravi Narayana Reddy, Baddam Yella Reddy and Govind Rao Sharab were the leading Communist leaders. They contested the general elections and won the elections. Arutla Ramachandra Reddy and his wife also contested and represented the Communist party in the assembly. Sri Ravi Narayana Reddy contested parliament elections and won the Nalgonda parliament seat with highest number of votes in whole of India. Thus the under ground movement of Communist came to an end. Magdoom Mohiuddin a Communist and a well known journalist won MLA seat from Jangaon. The Communists left the armed struggle and started participating in the mainstream political process and contested the assembly and parliament elections. The underground movement of armed struggle came to an end once forever. Jai Telangana Jai Jai TelanganaMaroju Srihari (Retd. D.E.O), Jangaon, Warangal Dt.

Mother is waiting...

appeal to PM

An AppealTo Sri Manmohan Singh,Honorable Prime Minister of IndiaTo: Sri. Manmohan Singh,Dear Sir,We take this opportunity to impress upon you the need and urgency of your action in the form of working toward a separate Telangana State. As you quoted Victor Hugo over a decade ago, “No army can withstand the strength of an idea whose time has come” and the Telangana people’s aspiration is one such.Telangana has been subjected to oppression and neglect for over five hundred fifty years. First five hundred years, Muslim Kings made the decisions for Telangana, and the last 47 years, Andhras are making decisions for Telangana. The Telangana people were free for only four years (1952 – 1956) to make their own decisions. Freedom to determine one’s own destiny, as you know is the highest of the rewards for a true democracy.Four and a half decades have passed since the State of Andhra Pradesh was formed. As you are aware, the merger of Telangana with the former Andhra State became possible only because a set of solemn promises were made and constitutional guarantees were given to protect against the possible neglect and exploitation of Telangana. These promises were made not just once, but numerous times and all were broken. Consequently, the exploitation of the region and its people is continued. The people of the region are not only deprived of their legitimate share in the development but are also marginalized in the political process. They have been humiliated on the cultural and linguistic fronts and are virtually reduced to the status of second-class citizens in their own homeland. A prolonged neglect of the region has provided a fertile ground for the emergence and spread of Naxalite violence and also unending farmer suicides. The development scenario of Telangana is very depressing. There is not even a single sector in which this region has not been ignored. We would, however, like to bring to your notice only a few areas to underscore the gravity of the situation. EDUCATIONThe literacy rate in Telangana is 37% as against 46% in Coastal Andhra, 45% in Rayalaseema and 72% in the Capital City.Enrollment of students at the school level in Telangana is 30% instead of 40%, based on the size of population. Over 75% of the expenditure on government and government-aided colleges is incurred in the other two regions.Out of 21 Universities and University level Institutions funded either by the State or the Central Government, 3 are located in Coastal Andhra, 7 in Rayalaseema, 10 in the Capital city and just one in the entire Telangana region. IRRIGATION69% percent of catchments area of river Krishna and 79% percent of catchments area of river Godavari are in the Telangana, and Telangana region gets less than 15% of the river waters.The Coastal Andhra has usurped 80% of assured waters of Krishna allocated to the State by the Bachawat Tribunal. 90% of surplus waters, yet to be allocated, are reserved for the Rayalaseema, denying the Telangana its rightful share.The Godavari waters have already been harnessed to irrigate more than 12 lakh acres in Coastal Andhra while the corresponding figure for Telangana is 4 lakh acres. The proposed Polavaram Project on Godavari is to serve the Coastal Andhra region is planned to be six times larger than the proposed Ichampalli Project to serve the backward Telangana region.The net area under tank irrigation in the Telangana region had declined by 76% between 1956 and 1998. The Telangana farmers mostly depend on well irrigation. The farmers of Coastal Andhra get cheap canal water subsidized by the State, while the Telangana farmers are forced to pay higher electric pump bills. AGRICULTUREThe net cultivated area in the Telangana region has decreased by 22% during the period 1956 and 1998, while it has increased by 4.25% in Coastal Andhra region.40% of the cultivated area in the State is in the Telangana region, and the institutional credit available to the Telangana farmers is far less. They get 18%, 23% and 28% of the total credit provided by the District Cooperative Central Banks (short-term), the A.P. Cooperative Central Bank (long-term) and the Scheduled Commercial Banks.Inadequate Institutional credit is forcing the Telangana farmers to fall into the debt trap laid by the private moneylenders, leading to an unprecedented number of suicides during the last five years. INDUSTRIESNo major industry worth its name has been setup in any of the districts of the Telangana region as compared to the establishment of several industries in Visakapatnam, Vijayawada, Kakinada, Nellore, Tirupati, and Cuddapah.Quite a few major industries established in the Telangana region during the rule of Nizams are being closed one after the other by the successive governments. Important among the closed industries are Azamjahi Mills (Warangal), Sir Silk Factory (Sirpur), Antargaon Spinning Mills (Adilabad), DBR Mills, and Allwyn Factory. Further the famous Nizam Sugar Factory (Nizamabad) is on the verge of closure. EMPLOYEMENTThere are about 15 lakh jobs in the government and government-funded offices and establishments. Based on the size of population, 40% of these jobs, i.e. 6 lakhs, should have been filled in by the Telangana job seekers. But the total number of jobs now occupied by them is less than 2 lakhs.The State Government issued orders as back as in the year 1984 to remove all the non-locals appointed and to appoint only Telangana locals against the vacancies created. Besides not implementing these orders, further recruitment of non-locals in the Telangana region is going on. FINANCESThe contribution of Telangana region to the State’s Exchequer has all along been around 43%. But the expenditure incurred on the development of this region has never been more than 25%.The lower per capita income of the Telangana region enabled the State Government to get higher allocation of funds from the successive Finance Commissions. But the benefit of such higher allocation of funds never materialized for the Telangana region.More than 80% of loans taken from the World Bank and other International and National agencies are being spent for the development of Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema. But the burden of repayment of these loans and interest on them is being borne by the people of Telangana to the extent of 40 to 43%.A cumulative effect of these and similar factors, over the years, has been the diversion of thousands of crores of rupees meant for the development of Telangana region, for the development of other regions. The situation in other sectors is equally, if not more, alarming. The Drinking water is a major issue for the Telangana region. The people mostly depend on bore-wells for their drinking water and are inflicted with fluorosis. The fluorides in the drinking water cause permanent disfigurement, brain damage and there is no cure for it.Telangana is rich with resources. Telangana people are asking: Use Telangana resources for the development of Telangana region for the betterment of Telangana people. We hope that the national government under your stewardship is aware of these facts. Formation of Telangana State is as explained earlier is the aspiration of the natives. That aside, the principles governing smaller states to bring government closer to people would build up the economy and empower people in the process. Telangana people opposed the formation of Andhra Pradesh state in 1956, they overwhelmingly voted for a separate Telangana state in 1969. In 2004 elections, the people of Andhra Pradesh accepted the concept of two states, voted overwhelmingly for TRS-Congress alliance, and rejected the TDP appeal for united Andhra Pradesh. TDF-USA congratulates you for taking the step toward initiating a dialogue through President’s address to the Parliament and further clarifying it in your first Press conference the future Telangana state. Telangana people have committed to achieve their statehood through non-violence. The conditions are ripe and there is consensus on ground with out any unnecessary hate or dislike toward each other. The time for Telangana has come and please understands that TDF-USA will continue to work towards the betterment of the region.Thanking you Sir.Sincerely yours,Telangana Development Forum, USA

Friday, August 11, 2006

why telangana

TELANGANA MOVEMENT : The Demand for a Separate StateDr. K. Jayashankar (Former Vice-Chancellor)A Historical PerspectiveThe people of Telangana are once again restive, reiterating their demand for a separate state. The demand of the people of this region for a separate state is not a new development. It was voiced much before the formation of Andhra Pradesh and continues to be raised even thereafter. The reason for the opposition of people of Telangana to join Visalandhra (metamorphosed to Andhra Pradesh) was fear of neglect and injustice in the enlarged state and the reason for their refusal to continue in the present state is the actual experience of becoming victims of neglect and injustice. The States Reorganization Commission (SRC) set up by the government of India in early 50s to examine the question of reorganization of states of the country was, in fact, not in favour of merging the Telangana region with the then Andhra state. After a very careful examination of the issues involved the SRC recommended:"... It will be in the interest of Andhra as well as Telangana if, for the present, the Telangana area is constituted into a separate state which may be known as the Hyderabad state, with provision for its unification with Andhra after the general elections likely to be held in or about 1961, if by two-thirds majority the legislature of the residuary Hyderabad state expresses itself in favour of such unification". (SRC Report: Para 386) The commission further recommended:"Andhra and Telangana have common interests and we hope these interests will tend to bring the people closer to each other. If, however, our hopes for the development of the environment and conditions congenial to the unification of the areas do not materialize and if public sentiment in Telangana crystallizes itself against the unification of the two states, Telangana will have to continue as a separate unit". (SRC Report: Para 388) The Commission came to this conclusion after a dispassionate assessment of feelings of the people of Telangana and the fears entertained by them. Elaborating the reasons for recommending statehood for the Telangana region the Commission observed:"One of the principal causes of opposition to Visalandhra also seems to be the apprehensions felt by the educationally backward people of Telangana that they may be swamped and exploited by the more advanced people of the Coastal areas...The real fear of the people of Telangana is that if they join Andhra they will be unequally placed in relation to the people of Andhra and in this partnership the major partner will derive all the advantages immediately while Telangana itself may be converted into a colony by the enterprising Andhras". (SRC Report: para 378) Further, the SRC cautioned the nation against the dangers involved in reorganizing the Indian states solely on linguistic considerations. One of the rational criteria recommended by the Commission, while reorganizing the states, was:"... to reject the theory of ‘one language one state’ which is neither justified on grounds of linguistic homogeneity, because there can be more than one state speaking the same language without offending the linguistic principle, nor practicable, since different language groups, including the vast Hindi speaking population of the Indian Union, cannot always be consolidated to form distinct linguistic units". (SRC Report: para 163) In addition, the Prime Minister of the time, Jawaharlal Nehru, also was not in favour of merging Telangana with the Andhra state. He ridiculed the demand for Visalandhra as an idea bearing a "tint of expansionist imperialism". (Indian Express, October 17, 1953). Yet, paradoxically, the state of Andhra Pradesh was formed on 1st November 1956 - ignoring the wishes of people of Telangana, against a categorical recommendation of the SRC and contrary to the views of the tallest leader of the time, Jawaharlal Nehru. It was the outcome of manipulative politics... Read the full article

TDF meet on 5 aug

“Quest for Telangana State – Perspectives and Challenges”Seminar held @ MIT Campus, Cambridge on 8/5/2006

Telangana Development Forum, Boston chapter organized a seminar on “Quest for Telangana State – Perspectives & Challenges” on August 5th at MIT Campus. This seminar is part of the USA-wide lecture circuit organized by TDF. The meeting was attended by over 60 people including the some non-telugu speaking people representing South Asian Forum.

The first guest speaker R. Vidya Sagar Rao, Retired Chief Engineer of Central Water Commission and a nationally renowned expert on irrigation projects and river water issues articulated in layman terms, how the successive governments of Andhra Pradesh systematically denied Telangana region its legitimate share of river water. Vidya Sagar Rao stressed that if the YSR government’s ill conceived plans of “Jala Yagnam” are implemented as they are; it will have a detrimental effect on the Telangana region and will permanently deny its people the only hope of unutilized water of Godavari River. Mr. Rao felt that an independent statehood for Telangana is the only solution to get its due share of river water and sought the active support from Non-Residents Telanganites in the on-going struggle for Telangana statehood.

The second guest speaker, Dr. Haranath Polasa is a Retired professor of political science at Osmania University and a founder trustee of Telangana Information Trust (TIT) has a long history with Telangana movement. He was very active student leader during the 1969 and since then Prof. Haranath has conducted extensive research on political economy of Telangana region. Dr. Haranath pointed out how the people of Telangana were denied their due share of economic opportunities including agriculture, employment, industry and education in the combined state of Andhra Pradesh. The constitutional safe guards provided at various points of Telangana uprising have been continuously violated to this date.

The last speaker but not the least is Dr. T. Rajeshwar Rao, a prominent BJP party leader from Telangana region is a former Mayor of Warangal and member of Andhra Pradesh State BJP party executive council. Dr. Rao emphatically told the audience, his party’s commitment for restoring the statehood for Telangana. He reiterated that BJP party president Rajnath Singh unequivocally declared support for Telangana and BJP is the only national party which passed resolution for creating the Telangana state. Dr. Rao also requested all Non-Resident Telanganites to have festivities and celebrations on the historic day of September 17th when Telangana truly became independent from feudal rule.

Earlier, the seminar was kicked off with the welcome address by Venkat Maroju followed by the screening of “Still Seeking Justice” a documentary on Telangana. Sudhir Kodati, founder and General Secretary of TDF provided the overview organization and its past and present activities. The meeting also witnessed melodious songs and videos from the Telangana Dhoom Dham, a grand program held in Hyderabad city recently showcasing the Telagana culture.

Some of the prominent Bostonians attended the meeting include Dr. Devender Rao, Papa Rao, Dr. Jaspal of South Asian Forum, Dr. Gilani, a Harvard visiting scholar from Pakistan, Nasim from Indian American Forum for Political Education and Wei Qiang from MIT Sloan School. Suresh Gottimukkula, Amar Karimella, Shanti Putta, Shashi Pulla and Harikrishna Devulapally and several others helped in the organization of the event.

Kaloji

Prajakavi is the single title that captures the richness and variety of Kaloji Narayan Rao' s qualities. A man of the people, a poet of the people. His choice of language, form and subject matter, his very practice of poetry have been integral to his commitment to the cause of ordinary people. His personal integrity and fearless commitment to justice and truth have drawn around him a wide circle of admirers from every walk of life, form part of his unique personality. His abiding sense of humour, his irony and his brutal insistence on honesty. Kaloji's fierce individualism and his refusal to submit to imposed discplines have kept him out of the membership of political parties. Yet he is deeply political and has been in the vanguard of many a protest and struggle.Born on 9 september 1914, Kaloji's life spans the twentieth century and shines as a bright torch inspiring younger generations.The first modern Telugu poet to write free verse, in this part of the country, Kaloji's poetry (consisting of ten volumes) is a running commentary on the historical, socio political and cultural aspects of his time. Titled Na Godava it provides profound insights into the myriad issues and contradictions of his time his autobigraphical writing Idee Na Godava is historical and reflective. He claims no copyright and castshis ideas aboard freely for all to use. Kaloji has been at the forefront of all the significant struggles that make up the history of the erstwhile Hyderabad State.He was part of Satyagraha movement, the Osmania University Student Vandemataram movement, Arya Samaj, State Congress, Andhra Mahasabha(Telenagana) and Anti-Razakar movements. He has consistently fought for democratic and responsible government. His commitment to human rights made him an active member of the Tarkunde Committee. Although opposed to power and the trapping of office Kaloji looked upon elections as a democratic exercise. He contested thrice and once got elected as a member of the legeslative council. His most significant contest was in 1977 against Vengal Rao then Chief Minister who symbolised the 'emergency' rule in Andhra Pradesh.Honoured with the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian honour in the country, Kaloji brings grace and distinction to the award.A voracious reader, an ardent cricket fan and an incurable storteller Kaloji delights his listeners young and old alike with his stories and experiences. His face - familiar all across the State, his presence - welcome everywhere and his honesty that brooks no deceit make Kaloji an institution in his lifetime. And he is rooted in Telengana - his conduct, his language, his humour and his taste reflect these roots.